November 19,The New York Times published an article on Wednesday saying that Chinese talents are still driving AI research in the United States.Without talented Chinese researchers entering the United States, Silicon Valley companies would fall behind in the global AI race. In June this year, when Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the establishment of the Super Intelligence Laboratory, he introduced 11 AI researchers who had joined the ambitious project, with the goal of building an AI more powerful than the human brain.


Chinese engineering talent vital to Silicon Valley companies, study says

The 11 researchers are all immigrants educated outside the United States. According to a memo reviewed by The New York Times,Seven people were born in China.

Although many U.S. business executives, government officials, and experts have for months portrayed China as an “enemy” for the rapid development of U.S. AI, much of the groundbreaking research emerging in the U.S. is actually driven by Chinese talent.

Chinese talents play an important role

Researchers born and educated in China have been playing prominent roles in top U.S. AI labs for years, two new studies show. Even as the Trump administration tightens immigration policies, they are still driving important AI research in industry and academia.

These two studies from different institutions show in detailThe extent to which the U.S. tech industry continues to rely on engineers from China, especially in the field of AI.The findings also provide a more nuanced perspective on the continued collaboration between researchers in China and the United States.

In 2020, a study by the Paulson Institute, which promotes constructive relations between China and the United States, estimated that China's AI researchers accounted for nearly one-third of the world's top AI talent, with the majority working at U.S. companies and universities.


Zuckerberg is recruiting AI talent

A new study from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace shows that the vast majority of these Chinese researchers are still working at U.S. institutions. Among the 100 top Chinese researchers who have worked in American universities or companies in 2019,87 people are still engaged in research in American universities or companies.

"The U.S. AI industry is the biggest beneficiary of Chinese talent," said Matt Sheehan, an analyst who co-authored the two studies. "So many top Chinese researchers go to the United States to work and study. As this study shows, despite various tensions and obstacles faced in recent years, they still choose to stay in the United States."

There is still a lot of cooperation between China and the United States. Another study by alphaXiv, a company that helps people track and use the latest AI research, showed that since 2018, China and the United States have conducted joint research more frequently than any other two countries in the world.

Without Chinese talent, Silicon Valley will fall behind

Analysts like Sheehan believe the benefits of recruiting and working with Chinese talent far outweigh the potential risks. They worry that if the Trump administration further tightens policies targeting Chinese talent in the United States, it could seriously damage U.S. scientific research development.

“(Restricting Chinese talent) is seen as a real threat to U.S. companies’ leadership in AI,” said Helen Toner, interim executive director of Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technologies.

Without the influx of talented Chinese researchers into the United States, Silicon Valley companies will fall behind in global competition, and that is, behind Chinese companies.

"Learn Mandarin"

Even before Zuckerberg began actively recruiting new superintelligence lab members, Meta's AI work was highly dependent on Chinese talent. According to three people familiar with the Meta AI team culture,New employees in the Meta AI department are often jokingly told that they need to master two languages: Hack, the company’s self-developed programming language, and Mandarin Chinese.

This year, Meta has applied for 6,300 H1-B visas, which allow companies to hire technical talents from other countries. That number is second only to Amazon, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data. Data from alphaXiv shows that since 2018, Meta has also collaborated with Chinese institutions to publish at least 28 important research papers.

According to new research from alphaXiv, companies including Apple, Google, Intel and Salesforce have collaborated with Chinese institutions to publish high-profile research papers since 2018. Microsoft has already established research institutes in China, has cooperated with Chinese institutions more than any other company, and has co-published at least 92 important papers with Chinese researchers.

Many Chinese researchers say it has become more difficult to study and work in the United States in recent years. They often have difficulty obtaining visas and are wary of leaving the United States due to concerns about not being able to return successfully.

However, research by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace shows that some top Chinese researchers have returned to Chinese research institutions after working in American institutions for a period of time. At the same time, tensions within some U.S. companies are also rising. Last month, China researcher Yao Shunyu said in a blog post that he had left the San Francisco startup Anthropic to join Google, in part because Anthropic executives publicly labeled China a serious security threat.

Dr. Yao Shunyu wrote: "I strongly oppose these anti-China remarks. I believe most people at Anthropic will also disagree with this statement, but I feel that I cannot continue to stay in such an environment."